Thaksin eyes to change Man City logo

By Preechachan Wiriyanupappong
Published on June 17, 2008

City owner wants the Premiership club's crest to have Thai symbols

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is planning to change the logo of Manchester City, a move that will enrage even the most faithful supporters of his controversial reign as owner of the British football club.

A Thai source at the club confirmed a report in Sunday Mirror that Thaksin was thinking about changing the club's crest, which features a sailboat and golden eagle. But he denied the paper's claim that the new logo would have an elephant or even garuda, both of which harbour strong links to the monarchy.

"It's true that he wants to change the crest, as he thinks a sailboat doesn't represent something solid as it moves only as far as winds take it," the source said. "He wants to change from the 'uncertainty' to something firm and stable."

"No one can believe that a chairman can just come in and change our badge," a Man City source was quoted as saying in the British tabloid. "What about the club's tradition? The fans aren't going to like this. Just because somebody owns the club does not give the right to change everything."

Yet Thaksin, who initially was affectionately called Frank Sinatra by fans, has proven beyond doubt that he could do the most controversial things "his way". He sacked coach Sven-Goran Eriksson and his changing of the guard at Manchester City led to another high-profile departure a few days ago when chief executive Alistair Mackintosh was paid off for not falling in line.

Thaksin replaced him with former Nike executive Garry Cook. The source said Cook would be handling the logo issue and would be entrusted to run major day-to-day activities of the club.